Heritage Committee

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

It's a beautiful spring day, perfect for the first week back at the museum.

First act of the year: After 7 years the old guest book is full. We have a shiny new guestbook just waiting for your signature!

Last year we had a great year with a record number of visitors. We had a number of summer camps visit, and they took advantage of our tours and our museum scavenger hunts. We also had out "Archaeologist for a Day" program, which brought kids in for a morning or afternoon of digging through buckets of sand and discovering artifacts. They then recorded those artifacts, and tried to find the matching item in the museum. It was a lot of fun, and a great opportunity to understand archaeology and how objects from the past can relate to objects today.

Some of our archaeologists working together to try to fit a broken cup back together. Different pieces of the cup were spread throughout the archaeological "site".

We also had the opening of or newest exhibit "The Sikh Society of Newfoundland" which looks at the history of Sikhism in Newfoundland, the traditions and beliefs of Sikhism, and the Sikh Gurdwara which is locate on Logy Bay Road. The launch of the exhibit was an amazing success. Members of the Sikh Society were on hand to discuss the artifacts they donated and educate everyone on Sikhism. And they brought some amazing treats for everyone to enjoy. I want to extend my thanks once again for all of their help in developing the exhibit and for taking the time answer our questions and to comment on the exhibit drafts. As well a think you to Greg Noel for his photo of the Gurdwara.

At the opening of the exhibit "The Sikh Society of Newfoundland". Photo by Michelle Hickey

Artifacts relating to Sikhism generously donated by the Sikh Society of Newfoundland

Along with the new exhibit and the 2015 exhibit about the Outer Cove Plane Crash created by Katie Harvey, we started to update the museum a little. Everything has been brightened with the addition of UV filters on all the windows, so we can have the curtains open during the day! Some of the information panels have been cleaned up and replaced, and some of our displays have been rearranged. We also updated our display about the Ocean Ranger with the goal of creating a better memorial to those lost.

The new exhibit, with big thanks to Gerry Boland for donating a copy of his Ocean Ranger picture.

This work will continue this season to make the museum more inviting and easier to explore.

A little look at some of our displays.

We have big plans again for this year, so stay tuned to our facebook and twitter pages for events, activities, and updates!